


The Captain and the Texan

by Riain



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Army, Doctors & Physicians, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Apocalypse, Search for a Cure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 11:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6422509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riain/pseuds/Riain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Kaiya Smith was sent to research a cure for the Cordyceps fungus infection. Being dropped off in a foreign land, with limited resources leads one to fend for them self very quickly.</p><p>Joel and Ellie are heading down to Colorado from Tommy's Dam in Wyoming. They didn't expect to get ambushed in small Rocky Mountain town.</p><p>Follows the events of the game "The Last of Us" somewhat loosely with an OFC thrown in the mix, starting just before the University.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Captain and the Texan

**Author's Note:**

> Trying my hand at some TLoU, as I'm so burnt out on The Walking Dead. Let me know what you think! Short first chapter to test the waters...

 Captain Kaiya Smith sighed as she rolled over on the musty bed that had been part of her quarters for the last three days. Daylight filtered through the grimy windows of the house she had settled in the tiny mountain town of Walden, CO. The northern Colorado winter wind was getting brutal, and sleeping outside wasn’t the best idea. The last time she had seen anyone who wasn’t infected had been a small group living in the confines of a camp situated around a hydroelectric dam near Jackson, Wyoming.

The settlement had been more than accommodating once they realized Kai wasn’t out to kill them or rob from them.  As a Physician’s Assistant, Kai had offered her services in exchange for somewhere to rest before she continued on her mission.

            They had been forthcoming with information that was vital to her mission, giving her a lead on the Fireflies at a college in eastern Colorado. The leader, Maria Miller, had a meal packed for Kai, as well as a horse to take some of the miles off Kai’s boots. Kai wasn’t about to complain, any reprieve from walking was welcome. Maria’s husband Tommy was the one who knew where the college was, he was part of the Fireflies at one time.

Tommy put a marked map in Kai’s hand, before shaking her hand, “You’ll need a few days to get down there, if there’s anything there at all. Last I’d been down there was a few years ago.”

“I appreciate the help. I would have been searching a good bit longer for a lead until I ran into your camp. You’ve done a good thing for me, for humanity.” Kai gripped Tommy’s hand for a moment, seeing the age lines in the younger man’s face. It had been hard dealing with the infection, the looters, hunters and scarcity of supplies.

“Without you, the Masterson’s would have lost their baby. There’s not much bigger than saving a life that someone can repay.” Tommy swallowed hard, letting go of Kai’s hand. “You’ll be alright out there Captain. Keep an eye on the weather, it can change quick out here.”

“Righto, I better get on with it then. Thank you Tommy, for everything.” Kai turned the horse, kicking it into a trot down the road heading south.

* * *

 

Kai dug through her backpack, finding the pemmican and dried fruit Maria had packed. It wasn’t much, but a bit would do for breakfast. The wind had died down, it would be a good day to go out and scavenge the town for supplies. The little mountain town might have been overlooked, it could prove to have some good stuff. Kai would kill for some peanut butter or biscuits. The salty pemmican caught in her throat, even with chewing it for several minutes, Kai choked it down with water from her Camelback, swallowing a few more times.

Walking out to the paddock, Kai’s horse spotted her with large brown eyes. He trotted over, rubbing his nose against her hand. Over the last few days they had become well acquainted, even though it was a western saddle and not an English saddle. That took some adjusting, as Kai was used to an English saddle.

“I’m going to put you in the barn, hopefully you’ll stay there and no one will find you. It would be rather unsettling to find you gone. I would be back to walking, and that’s not very pleasant.” Kai walked the horse into the barn, tying him into a stall and closing the gate. She didn’t lock the gate, or tie the lead very tight, that way if she didn’t come back, the horse would be able to get out and be free. Nothing deserved to be penned up in this world, not even the animals, who were not affected by the virus.

Trudging through the town was a time consuming process. The houses Kai approached were locked, as if the inhabitants left for town to go shopping and never came back. In the last house Kai checked, she found peanut butter and crackers. Well into the middle of the sleeve of crackers and a healthy spoonful of peanut butter when the sound of gunfire broke the peaceful silence. Kai tossed the jar and crackers into her rucksack, before dropping the magazine in her M4, checking the rounds in her rifle. Never a good thing to bring an empty gun to firefight.

Slinking through the houses and town buildings, Kai crept closer and closer to the sound of the back and forth of the firefight. Pulling up her facemask and her command cap down tight, Kai climbed a ladder up the side of a building, using the duct system for cover as she came closer to the edge. Peering down into the street, Kai could see a young girl with red hair hiding behind a trash dumpster, taking what potshots she could get with a hunting rifle. Every so often the girl would glance across the street, her gaze meeting that of a man in a greenish shirt creeping through the cars with a shotgun in his hands.

On the opposing side were what looked like hoodlums straight of out a Mad Max movie. Ragtag goggles, torn jeans and shirts with pieces of pilfered armor over the raggedy clothes. There were four of them against the man and girl, unfair odds if you asked Kai. The hoodlums were creeping closer to the man, and the results of that meeting couldn’t be good. Kai couldn’t allow a girl to lose her father, and the girl to be raped and killed by these hoodlums.

Kai stood up, taking careful aim at the hoodlum who was about to draw on the man. The shot rang out, seeing blood blossom from the attacker’s skull, the man looking up at Kai and giving her a thumbs up. Kai’s cover was blown, the remaining hoodlums focusing their fire on the rooftop. Kai felt the burn of shrapnel gaining access under her body armor, forcing her to take cover, leaving the father and daughter to fend for themselves. As Kai made her way down the side of the building with her sidearm in hand, the din of the firefight ended with a shotgun blast. Kai made her way through the alley, coming out on the opposite side near the girl.

Kai’s heart almost beat out of her chest when the girl turned the rifle on Kai, finger tensing on the trigger. Kai just saved their asses, and this is how she gets repaid? Shot in a dirty street in abandoned small town America? ‘ _What a shit way to go’,_ Kai thought to herself.

“Ellie!” A male voice roared behind Kai, causing her to jump. “It’s alright, put the gun down. He saved my life and yours.” The man came around in front of Kai, slinging the shotgun over his shoulder, offering a hand.

“I’m Joel, this here’s Ellie. Thanks for saving us back there. Appreciate it.” Kai could see the years in Joel’s rugged face, the darkness in his eyes hinted at past pain. In this world, everyone had a backstory, and it was rarely anything good. Ellie stood next to Joel, rifle over her slim shoulder, bouncing her weight on the soles of her worn sneakers, her eyes locked on Kai. Kids didn’t have the innocence of being kids anymore, now they had to fight for their lives and forage for food. It was a harsh world, where only the strong survived by any means possible.

Kai pulled the skull facemask hiding her features, seeing shock paint both Joel and Ellie’s faces, before she gripped Joel’s outstretched hand tight. “I am no man. Captain Kaiya Smith, Australian Army. You’re welcome for the help. I couldn’t watch a father and daughter die at the hands of those hoods.”

Joel was quick to answer, “Ellie’s not my daughter.” There was hesitation in his voice, understandable with a stranger you just met, even if they saved your life.

“Oh shit! You’re bleeding!” Ellie exclaimed, pointing at the growing, wet red patch on Kai’s side.

“Bloody hell…”


End file.
